{ Mélanger :: to mix }

Cakes.  Cookies.  Pastries.  Breads.  Puddings.

The latest round up on Mélanger explores sweet recipes that exemplify comfort food.  Home baked goodies that provide a little nostalgia and feed your emotions.  Foods that lift your spirits and soothe the soul.   Old fashioned favourites that bring back fond memories.

I chose the theme of ‘comfort food’ as I was saddened by the extensive damage around me here in Brisbane and throughout Queensland with the recent floods.

But now I finish this theme faced with truly heart breaking images of the earthquake devasted city of Christchurch, New Zealand.  My heart goes out to everyone there.  My thoughts are with everyone and their family.

{ Cinnamon apple Danish braid }  This 5 minute Danish pastry is nothing short of spectacular! Perfect for a quick sweet breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up.  Filled dough with diced Granny Smiths and a hint of cinnamon, this braid is simple and comforting.  { Read more here … }

{ Fleur de sel chocolate sablés }  Sweet and salty and melt-in-your-mouth.  Baked exactly per original instruction.  When a recipe is inspired by a Pierre Hermé creation, and developed by Dorie Greenspan, really, who needs to make changes?  { Read more here … }

{ Plum and white rose tea cake }  There is something comforting about a simple teacake topped with fruit.  With blood plums in season, inspiration for a flavour partner came from the floral scent of rose to add a subtle perfume to the entire cake.  A delicious combination with the sweet plums.   { Read more here … }

{ Chocolate Babka Bread Pudding }  Slices of lightly toasted chocolate babka are soaked overnight in a simple custard then baked until golden.  The resulting pudding is soft, creamy and chocolately!  Very comforting (and filling!), indeed.  { Read more here … }

{ Omenapiirakka :: Finnish Apple Pie } You need to try this pie.  The best part for me was how easy the pastry was to make.  And even better than that, how delicious it was.  I actually made the pastry a day ahead and was able to quickly roll out, top with apple and then bake in less than 45 minutes.  To keep it simple, I served with a light dusting of icing sugar and some rich vanilla ice cream to complement the gooey caramelised apple centre of the pie.  { Read more here … }

{ Rhubarb, strawberry & ginger crumble tarts } Rhubarb is synonymous with English desserts.  Growing up, I recall my mother creating a number of desserts that incorporated rhubarb.  Not to the extent that I eventually had to throw a hand to cover my eyes, and gesture any oncoming fruit ladened dish away, but to know that this humble fruit was versatile, practical and a hint towards winter.  { Read more here … }

{ Sticky toffee bread & butter pudding } Combining the essence of two favourite British desserts, the essence of the bread and butter pudding was sustained  using a homemade spice ladened bread, and the rich, buttery butterscotch sauce, made for a slightly more self-indulgent pudding.  A perfect treat for the cooler Brisbane winter evenings.  { Read more here … }

{ Marmalade & golden syrup steamed puddings } The sweet, steamed pudding descends from the traditional boiled pudding – a favourite at Christmas time.  The basic steamed pudding recipe is easy to play around with. It is one of the most simple and comforting desserts to make.  { Read more here … }

{ Mustikkapiirakka :: Blueberry Tart } This simple, rustic style tart is a snap to make and a treat to share.  The blueberries piled high look as inviting as they are delicious.  The simplicity of the tart is the winning secret.  Fresh berries sweetened ever so slightly with a sprinkling of sugar, and topped on an easy to prepare, flaky pastry.  Perfect for any time of year.  { Read more here … }

{ Banana pudding ice cream } A creamy and rich ice cream base injected with custard powder and cinnamon, along with a healthy dose of tropical bananas, produces a refreshing dessert reminiscent of banana pudding.  A winter pudding, with a summer twist. { Read more here … }

{ Chocolate pecan & maple scrolls } Soft, rich and sweet bread is layered with chocolate, pecans and drizzled with maple syrup.  Straight out of the oven it is hard to resist not pulling them apart and enjoying straight away.  Fill with your own flavour combination to personalise your own scrolls.  { Read more here … }

{ Mini doughnuts with homemade dulce de leche } Mini balls of fried yeasty goodness.  The distinct aroma of the cinnamon s ugar on the warm doughnut.  The unbeatable taste of that just cooked doughnut.  These fluffy yeast style doughnuts are a lovely reminder of old fashioned doughnut shop confections.  { Read more here … }

When I become fixated on something, there is an obsessed air of compulsion running riot within me.  When I am truly focused, I will explore every possible avenue before reaching my goal.  The target of my obsession does not even have to be significant.  Big or small, if I am determined enough, I do not discriminate in my manic treatment!

A recent object of focus was tracking down … wait for it … pearl sugar.  Okay, sounds pretty simple, right?  It should be, but here in Brisbane, not an easy feat.

Not content with simply contacting some local gourmet and speciality providores (and after checking if they stocked pearl sugar, and being asked “what’s that? – clearly you can guess the outcome of those phone calls!), I commenced the internet hunt.  Sydney.  Check.  Melbourne.  Check.  Seems this sweet little product is readily accessible down south, but how to get my hands on some?

Instead of continuing further in the gourmet food store route (where many stores do not appear to be set up well – or cost efficiently – for interstate shipping), I decided to start contacting a slew of Nordic/Scandinavian retailers and wholesalers.

In the end, I found my pot of white gold, from a small retailer in Sydney (it was not even promoted on their website), and they were happy to send me up a couple of boxes.  (YAY!)

I have been feeling somewhat of a fraud baking a range of Scandinavian/Nordic goodies without pearl sugar.  So by tracking down this requisite baking ingredient, I feel a (probably a disproportional to most!) sense of accomplishment.

All in all, it really did not take that long to find – far quicker than the commercial food grade bees wax I hunted down to experiment with the custardy goodness of Cannelés Bordelais.  Now that was a challenge!

But now, with pearl sugar on hand, it was time for another Viking conquest, of the baking kind.  The famous Danish.   I researched a range of recipes to investigate ingredient proportions, techniques and approaches.  I was on the lookout for some shortcuts that would work with the much reduced time I now have for baking.

In the Great Scandinavian Baking Book, Beatrice Ojakangas provides a quick Danish recipe.  She implores readers that using this speedy version is not only common in Denmark, but produces almost identical results.  Sounds good to me!

Using Beatrice’s recipe as a guide, I slightly adapted the ingredients (reduced the butter quantity, switched all the fluids to milk and added a good dose of cardamom) as well as the directions (I ditched the food processor and simply used a pastry cutter, keeping this to a one bowl dough).

It literally took five minutes to put together, and only about the same to roll and prepare the following day.

I do not think it does actually produces results similar to the more labour intensive Danish pastry (because really, why would you spend all that time with the traditional approach if it was not superior?), but what it does produce, in the very short time it takes to pull together, is nothing short of spectacular!

As Mr Mélanger has a weakness for anything baked with apple, I filled this dough with some diced Granny Smiths and a hint of cinnamon.  Simple. Comforting.

I see plenty more Danish in my future.

{ Cinnamon apple Danish braid  }

{ Quick Danish pastry } adapted from the Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

* Ingredients *
7g / ¼ oz active dry yeast
¾ cup milk (45C/110F)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
190g / 1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) cubes.

* Directions *
In a small jug, lightly mix the yeast, milk, egg, sugar, salt and cardamom.  Set aside.  In a bowl, add the flour and cubed butter.  With a pastry cutter, blend together gently until the butter is cut to the flour but still is visible – you want some butter pieces still around 1cm in size (¼ – ½ inch).

Pour the wet mixture gently into the dry mixture.  Fold together only until everything is just moistened and starts to come away from the edges of the bowl.  Cover with plastic and pop in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, lightly dust a work surface and roll out the dough into a 30x20cm (12 x 8 inch) rectangle.  Fold the dough into thirds, and roll out again to the same size.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Repeat the folding and chilling process.  The dough is now ready to use.

{ Danish braid }

* Ingredients *
½ recipe of quick Danish pastry
4 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
To finish:
Egg wash
Pearl sugar
Sliced almonds

* Directions *
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.  Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and place onto baking paper.  Mix the apple, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the apple mixture down the centre of the dough.  Cut about 8-10 strips (on a slight angle) evenly down each side of the mixture.  A pizza cutter works well.  Fold the strips over the apple filling in a crisscross pattern.
Let pastry rise for 30 minutes until it looks a little puffy.  Brush the pastry with the egg wash, then sprinkle the pearl sugar (across the entire top of the pastry) and sliced almonds on top (almonds just down the centre).  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

:: Yeastspotting ::
I am submitting this cinnamon apple Danish braid to Yeastspotting.

Five months ago, I was excitedly cleaning up my desk at work, bidding à bientôt to my co-workers, and, as I was skipping out the door, entered the final countdown before motherhood.

(Where.  Has.  The.  Time.  Gone?)

Now, I am already preparing for my return to work.  By enjoying each and every day I have with my baby Nina.  Watching her grow, develop and mature.  Spending time with a baby that is flaunting her individuality, who is more alert and ‘talking’, who is trying to show spirit and independence through ‘commando’ crawling, reaching, grabbing, engaging, who giggles and screams in joy at the sight of my face, and who reacts with immense excitement at bright new shiny toys (and cannot get enough of them!).

Each day brings a new reward but the luxury of time will not last forever.   Before I know it, I will be packing her bag and lunchbox for daycare.  In fact, it will be in only six months that Nina will start, and I will ultimately return to work full-time.

And even though, in the future, Nina will not return home to find milk and cookies awaiting her, just freshly baked by her mother, she will not be without baked treats.  So I will comfort myself with the knowledge that a part of me will still be with her during the day.  Even if only in her lunchbox.

{ Fleur de sel chocolate sablés } Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

I made no changes to this recipe.  When a recipe is inspired by a Pierre Hermé creation, and developed by Dorie Greenspan, really, who needs to make changes?

* Ingredients *
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
170g/1 stick and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
180g/5 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chip-size bits.

* Directions *
1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted  with a paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until the butter is soft and creamy. Add the sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat for another 1 or 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated (the dough may look crumbly). For the best texture, work the dough as little as possible. Toss in the chocolate; mix to incorporate.
2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface, divide in half and, working with one half at a time, shape the dough into a log that is 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (As you’re shaping the log, flatten it once or twice and roll it up from one long side to the other, to make certain you haven’t got an air channel.) Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill them for at least 1 hour. (Wrapped airtight, the logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month.)
3. Centre a rack in the oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Working with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, slice rounds 1/2-inch thick. (If the cookies break, squeeze the broken-off bit back onto the cookie.) Place the cookies on the parchment-lined sheets, leaving an inch of space between them. Bake only 1 sheet at a time and bake each sheet for 12 minutes. (The cookies will not look done nor will they be firm, but that is the way they should be.) Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest, on the sheet, until they are only just warm. Repeat with the second sheet of cookies.